Fire-escape.



G, W. ANNE, SR.

` PIRE ESCAPE. APPLIUATION FILED MAY 29, 1912.

l,049,083. Patented 1190.31, 1912.

GEORGE W'. ANNEQSR., OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 31, 1912.

application mea may as, 1912. serial no. 700,432.

1/ 'o all 'whomA it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. ANNE, Sr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Lancaster, in the county of Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to fire escapes of the kind that are permanently7 attached to buildings, and consists inthe improvements hereinafter described,'which I have made in connection with the lower sections of such ireescapes. These lower sections are pivoted or made movable so that, when not in use, they are raised from the ground and are out of the way. Diiiiculty has been encountered in properly counterbalaucing such pivoted sections, so that they can be raised r lowered easily and yet will be held firmly in both their raised and lowered positions. `When a sutiiciently heavy counterweight is used to hold the section raised, it frequently happens that the foot of the section will not rest iirmly on the ground when the section is lowered for use, owing to the counterweight tending to raise it.

In the accompanying drawing, I have illustrated a portion of a building-attached lire-escape, embodying the improvedconstri'iction of counterbalancing the pivoted section.

Figure 1 is a side view, Fig. 2 an end view, and Fig. 3 a plan, of such portion of a tire-escape.

In these views l represents a platform or landing on the outside of a building and from which the lowest section of the fireescape leads to the ground. Obviously, the same construction can be used between the platform of the various stories of a building or elsewhere, but it will be cnvenient to describe it as applied to the-lowest story of a building.

2 represents the upper part of the nclined ladder or stairway, constitutinglthe fire-escape, which part is rigidly attached to the platform and building, as shown.

3 represents the lower part of the ladder, which is pivoied at 4, 4, to the bottom of the fixed apart 2.

5, 5, are the side members of the ladder 3, and they are continued beyond lthe pivots 4, 4, being first bent rearwardly or otfset, as at 6, 6, and then running parallel with the upper part 2, as shown at 7, 7 At their ends, the rails 7. 7. carrv between them the usual counterweight 8.

9, 9 represent bars depending vertically from the platform, 1, and 10, 10, represent guide-rails secured tothe bot-toms of said bars at one end and to the iXed ladder section 2 at the other end, the angle formed by said guide-rails and ladder section being approximately a right angle. Each rail 10 is formed of two parallel bars, spaced apart, thus forming guideways for the trunnions of a second counterweight 12,' provided also with rollers 13, v13, on its trunnions, which rollers run on the rails 7, 7.

The operation will now be evident. "When the ladder 3 is not in use, it is swung up into the horizontal position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. '1, in which position the movable counterweight 12 has been carried, by the guide-rails 10, Atoward the outer end of the rails 7. The lower ends of these guide-rails are preferably curved, as shown at 14, to hold the ladder section 3 more firmly in its horizontal position. V'Vhen the section 3 is lowered for use, the counterweight 12 is automatically moved up in the guides 10, by the engagement of its rollers 13 with the rails 7. It then, being much. nearer the fulcrum 4, naturally acts with less 'leverage against the weight of the ladder itself and, consequently, the latter rests solidly on the ground.

Having thus described my invention, what 'I claim iszl. A ladder for building-attached fire escapes, comprising a ixed inclined upper section and a swinging lower section, pivoted to the lower' end of said upper section and adapted to be swung into horizontal position when not in use and to extend in line with said upper section when in use, said upper section having inclined guides secured thereto and extending rearwardly therefrom and said lower section having members extending beyond its pivots substantially parallel to and beneath saidupper section, and a weight moi-'ably mounted on said members and engaging said guides whereby it is moved rearwardly toward the ends of said members, as the lower' section is swung up and inwardly toward the upper ends of said guides when said ladder section is swung down into position for use.

2. A building attached tire-escape ladder, comprising a platform, an inclined ladder Asection rigidly-secured thereto lout extend- `section pivoted thereto 'so that it can be ing for a short distance only downwardly therefrom, a lower ladder section pivoted thereto and adapted, when in use, to rest with its foot` on the ground or on the next lower platform, and Ahavin an extension beyond its pivot, oounterba anoing means movably carried on said extension to hold it in a horizontal position when not in use and to permit it to rest securely in its inclined position when in use, and guides secured beneath said rigid section to cause said eounterbalancing means to move on said extension. i

3, In a fire-escape ladder of the type described, the combination with thev fixed upper section of the ladder, of the lower swung up from its operative position in tions, and fixed .guides for said second i weight secured to said upper section, whereby as said lower section is raised, said second weight is moved rearwardly away from said pivots and vice versa. l

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE w. ANNE, sa. f`

Witnesses:

ALLAN A. HERR,- W. E. MonToN.

Copies of this patent'may be obtained for lve cents each, by addressing thev commissioner of te'nfg,

' Washington, I. C. 

